THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 5, 1996 TAG: 9607040005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 26 lines
J. A. Palmer's suggestion (letter, June 11) that homeowners over the age of 65 be released from the portion of their taxes that cover educational expenses reveals a shortsightedness of colossal proportions. Apparently, he feels that he bears no responsibility for the education of the children of our community or of our nation.
This sort of ``me first'' attitude is directly contributing to the decline of this nation's fortunes. I am certain that Palmer would have no qualms complaining about the quality of American youth in the same breath that he advocates taking away the means to educate and train them for the challenges of the future. I do not believe that throwing money at the schools is a panacea for the ills of our nation, but they are still our best hope for the future.
In the interest of fairness, possibly Palmer feels that those of us under 65 should be released from the portion of our tax burden dedicated to paying Social Security benefits to people of his age. After all, we aren't benefiting from that money today.
TOM JORGENSEN
Norfolk, June 26, 1996 by CNB